The Basics of Facial Care

A well-groomed and pleasant appearance over time relies on one very important thing, the proper care for the face. While the skin is the largest organ in the body, a large amount of people neglect to properly care for their skin. The face itself tells someone largely about the owner’s lifestyle and personality. A good and clean skin often gives someone the impression of a well-groomed person.

Caring for the face, does not mean spending hours or even hundreds of dollars in salon treatments, spa sessions or beauty products. It only means devoting some of your time to listening to your skin needs and attending to them. Caring for your face is not a burden, instead, it is a lifestyle essential one must grow accustomed to.

Basic facial care includes five easy steps: cleansing, exfoliating, toning, moisturizing and applying sunscreen. First and foremost is cleansing the face. The face must be washed with a gentle cleanser about twice a day. Any more than that would strip the skin with essential oils. Washing off these oils too much would eventually lead the skin to produce more to compensate for the loss. Using bath soap on the face is a major mistake by most women. Not only does it dry-up the face, the component that holds the soap together also tends to block the pores and lead to acne. There are a lot of affordable and inexpensive cleansers in the market. The important thing to remember here is to listen to you skin. Knowing your skin type would enable you to better respond to its needs.

ExfoliateExfoliating involves removing the dead skin cells on the surface of the skin, allowing the healthier layer to come out. Exfoliation leads to a glowing skin and more even skin-tone. New skin cells tend to be more fresh and plump. This gives the face a more youthful appearance. Moreover, new skin also absorbs moisturizer more easily.

ToneToning is essential for removing the dirt, make-up and oil that cleansers fail to remove. Some people take this step as optional. But people with oily skin and combination skin can greatly benefit from toning. Because it acts as an extra step to eliminate oil, it also lessens the chances for pore blockage leading to acne.

MoisturizeMoisturizing is an essential not only for people with dry skin, but also for people with oily skin and combination skin alike. Oily skin does not mean a well-moisturized skin. The surface of the face may appear oily, but the skin cells underneath still need to be nourished. Moisturizers, however redundant, help draw in moisture to the deeper layers of the skin, and seal in the moisture.

ProtectFinally, cleansing and caring for the face are not the only basic essentials of facial care. Applying sunscreen or sunblock is also necessary. This final step protects the skin from environmental damage. The sun’s rays may be damaging to the skin. It is also known to be a contributory factor to wrinkles, freckles, moles and even skin cancer. Young people most especially, need to begin applying sunscreen on their face, for this will later on benefit them as they grow older. The sooner they start protecting their skin, the lesser wrinkles, freckles, and moles they will show as they grow older.

Five easy steps are all you need to maintain a healthy and well-groomed appearance. Caring for the face does not mean spending thousands on treatments and products. It only means listening to you skin and following a certain lifestyle that practices compassion for you skin. The face is the most prominent feature of every single person in the planet. The face is what we identify the people around us with. Incorporating these 5 steps into your lifestyle will not only boost the way you will feel about yourself, but it will also boost the way other people perceive you. Remember, feeling good inside, knowing you are taking care of yourself, will make a happier you.

The market is filled with thousands of different beauty products. The diversity is immense, so is the confusion. Amidst all of the different brands, all of the different cleansers, moisturizers, toners and other so called “must-haves”, how does one really choose which products to use?

The first step is discovering your own skin type. Just as each person differs in height or weight, each person is endowed with a different skin type. Generally, all skin types can fall into 5 categories. These are normal, dry, oily, combination and problem skin types.

Knowing Your Skin TypeDiscovering and embracing your very own skin types entails listening to your skin and understanding it. The normal skin is soft, smooth and supple to the touch. It is neither too dry nor oily. Its pores are hardly visible and break-outs are rare. In other words, people gifted with this skin type belong to the measly 20% that have normal skin.

Dry skin tends to feel tight and constricted. There is also a tendency for fine lines to appear around the eyes or the mouth. After washing the face, it immediately feels tight and dry. Oily skin on the other hand is the complete opposite of the dry skin. After washing, it feels normal but a few hours later, it looks greasy already. Its complexion is rough and it tends to have blackheads and whiteheads. Pores are large and visible to the naked eye.

The combination skin is the “in-between” of the dry and oily skin types. It tends to be oily in the t-zone and dry in other areas. There is an imbalance in the skin such that both types exist on the same face. The t-zone refers to the area of the forehead, nose and chin. The problem skin type is the acne-prone skin. It has constant breakouts of blackhead, whiteheads and pimples. The skin is usually oily and has large visible pores.

These are the 5 general skin types. Some people can manifest more than one type. What is important is to determine which skin types you’re closest to. After determining your skin type, the next step is knowing how to care for your skin.

Caring for Your SkinThe normal skin type requires very little maintenance. For the fortunate minority gifted with this skin type, it does not mean it should not be taken care of. It still needs to be cleansed, toned, moisturized and protected. It can probably use any beauty product in the market.

The dry skin type requires a lot of moisturizing aside from cleansing and toning. Cream-based cleansers work well with dry skin. Toners with alcohol and other drying components must be avoided. The oily skin type requires a gentle cleanser twice a day. Any more than that would lead the sebaceous glands (oil producing glands of the skin) to overproduce oil to compensate for the loss. Moisturizing is also needed despite the oiliness of the skin. Toning is an essential to remove excess oil and cool the skin. Oily skin types must always look for water-based products. Oil-based ones will only aggravate the oiliness.

Combinations kin types demand more attention because the oily and dry areas must be treated separately to be able to restore balance. Toning must only be done on the oily areas. Moisturizing applies to the entire face but attention must be paid to the dry areas. Finally, the problem skin type demands the most attention. It must be careful with selecting beauty products. Cleansers, moisturizers and toners must be hypo-allergenic and non-comedogenic. Non-comedogenic means that the product will not block the pores. It is also advisable for problem skin types to consult with a dermatologist to help remedy the problem.

Natural Ways to Treat Acne

A large majority of the population has suffered from an embarrassing case of acne at one time or another. In fact, some have had such bad problems with the condition that they must resort to using potent and even dangerous drugs and chemicals in hope of keeping the condition in check. Many individuals are unaware that there are more natural, and just as effective, ways to treat acne without the harmful and annoying side effects associated with prescription medications.

The skin is the largest organ of the body and helps in the elimination of toxins and waste through sweating. The skin must be recruited to help out in the elimination and detoxification process if the kidneys and liver are over burdened or worn out. When the skin is working in this capacity, acne is sometimes the result.

Therefore, in the case of acne, it is crucial that the skin not be called upon to function as part of the elimination and detoxification system. To do this, the liver and kidneys must be strengthened and cleansed, so that they can handle the amount of work required on their own. Additionally, the hormones of the body must be brought back into balance (when they are out of balance the kidneys and liver have to do extra work), as well as improving the overall diet of the individual (again, with a poor or unhealthy diet, the liver and kidneys are overworked).

Methods to strengthen the liver, kidneys and all other bodily organs, include adding key minerals and vitamins to the body. This can be done through supplementation or through diet modification. The nutrients which should be increased include Vitamins A, B complex, C, D, and E. These can be taken as a pill or by increasing the quantity of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and beans eaten each day. Consider removing all refined and processed foods from the diet and replacing them with whole foods, fruits and vegetables plus at least eight glasses of water each day. If this is not possible, think about adding a multi-vitamin to the diet.

As far as minerals and other nutritional compounds go, the important ones include zinc and essential fatty acids. Zinc can be found in most meat products, beans, nuts, peas, oatmeal, zinc-fortified breakfast cereals, whole wheat bread, milk, spinach and most seafood (oysters, crabmeat, lobster and salmon).

In addition to implementing dietary changes, herbal therapy is extremely beneficial in strengthening, cleansing and tonifying the kidneys and liver and returning them to full power so that the skin does not have to work as hard in the elimination process.

Herbal remedies include dandelion, milk thistle, red clover and burdock root. These herbs can be consumed through teas, tinctures or as pills. It is best to work with an individual who is experienced and knowledgeable in the dosing of these supplements to determine which herb is right for you.

By eating a healthier, more wholesome diet and adding herbs to improve the functioning of the elimination and detoxification systems, the appearance of acne is sure to decrease and possibly even disappear after a short period of time. As with any change in diet, please first consult your doctor.

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